Ultraman Leg Episode 4
In the heart of the Hercules constellation lies a majestic gas giant. “Illumina”, the local civilizations call it, for the upper layers of its atmosphere are always lit by vibrant white-hot auroras. And in spite of the utter absurdity of it, deep within the bowels of this brilliant planet, in the toxic syrupy murk where light is desperately scarce and gravity crushing, several hundred asteroids are embedded deep into Illumina’s ferrous core, forcefully hammered into its surface. As the years pass by, time and gravity eat away at the asteroids, crushing and corroding them into rubble. But no matter what, the several tiny shards of bone scattered amongst the rocks shall never erode away. No matter if they’re good or evil, the rise of a legendary Ultra Warrior is an event of cataclysmic proportions. And such incidents are bound to leave marks. If you know what to look for, it is quite easy to find the scars inflicted upon the universe by an Ultra’s rise to greatness. These are the little bits and pieces that make up the prequel of a legend. And now a new planet was entering the roster of celestial bodies that have been granted the honor of bearing the marks of a warrior’s evolution. Planet Dank. A modestly sized “super-Earth” in human terms, it orbits a system of two red dwarves in a secluded corner of the Andromeda Galaxy. The thick layer of fluorescent yellow clouds shrouding its surface conceals beneath itself a mysterious and bizarre little world of volcanic plains overflowing with viscous streams of acidic lavas and mountainous forests whose color palette is reminiscent of the CGA displays of ancient human technology. The tale of the new legend’s vicious struggle had been imprinted into the its landscape. The deep furrows he had rent in the ground in agony and helpless rage became gorges and canyons. The force of his attacks had mowed down mountain ranges and created new ones. His overflowing tears had formed new lakes and rivers, which the local aquatic wildlife had gladly claimed to themselves. That man’s name was Leg. Only a week remained of his year-long ordeal. Frankly, he had no idea how he had managed to avoid dying – not giving up the ghost, for his body was miserably immortal, but dying on the inside, completely shattering in spirit. Every single second up to this moment had been spent suffering. He wasn’t just in pain. No, at this point simply being “in pain” seemed like a goddamn vacation to him. It’s as if the entire world, the entire multiverse had been replaced by nothing but pain. Pain had become the very essence of his being. Ultraman Leg. No longer an Ultra, but an Ultra-shaped lump of congealed agony. It didn’t take long for this ever-compounding suffering to become too much for him. In the first couple of weeks it was a daily occurrence for him to break down into hideous, messy weeping and stagger over to the Portfolio Rock. Small and ornate, a solitary bell shone brightly in the dim light of Planet Dank’s twin suns at the foot of the mountain, polished to perfection by the desperate grasp of Eeznus’ past students as they hurried to put an end to their misery. The bell beckoned him, promising to make the pain go away with just a single ring of it. And Leg would appear to make no effort to resist that temptation, reaching for the bell without any hesitation. But the twin suns reflecting off the bell’s surface would suddenly become all too reminiscent of a pair of emberlike orange eyes, and Leg would flinch away from the bell as though stung, and then hurry back to his training ground, howling like an injured beast as he dashed, trampling the CGA-colored grasslands under his feet. At first, these breakdowns and subsequent trips to the bell would occur at least twice every single day. But as months passed and Eeznus’ training plan began to come to fruition, these visits became less and less frequent. Daily. Weekly. Monthly. And by the final month of Leg’s training they had completely stopped. He had no idea how he had managed to do it, but Leg had actually gotten used to the suffering. No, it never got easier. Quite the contrary, he was carrying a burden of pain and fatigue all the way from Day One, and the fact that his training still continued meant that the suffering kept compounding and only growing worse with every single day. Rather, he stopped protesting against it and made peace with the pain. By the final two months of his training it was pretty much just another part of his daily life. And it’s not like it was going to last forever, either. Master Eeznus was always close by, monitoring his student’s progress, his demeanor a bizarre and so unforgettably Eeznusy mix of supportive and sadistic. When the going got especially tough, he would toss freshly baked cookies into Leg’s mouth with flawless accuracy and shout motivational clichés at him, but the training menu for the day never got any easier. This attitude and those occasional cookies was most likely what had kept him going for all those agonizing months. Now he was one week away from completing his training. But today there was something different about the suffering he was feeling. It wasn’t the feeling of the accumulated hundreds of days’ worth of physical fatigue that had become the norm for him. No, this pain was much, much worse. A horrible, physically and mentally draining feeling that burned through every blood vessel in his body as though copious amounts of molten metal had been injected into his bloodstream and topped off with a syringe full of concentrated acid. And try as he may to keep on practicing his attacks on a vaguely humanoid-shaped pillar of dankite (an extremely durable and flexible carbon allotrope native to Planet Dank's mountainous regions), he found his movements growing more and more sluggish. Crap, how frustrating! Every second counted and this annoying pain seemed to be trying its damnedest to get him to give up. Hell no! Not when he’s so close to perfecting the special technique he had developed specifically to be used against Brotein! Even if the pits of hell were to open beneath his feet, he couldn’t afford to stop! But still, no matter how mentally tough Leg had gotten over the last few months, right now keeping on going sounded much easier said than done. “QUITQUITQUITQUITQUITQUIT!” the pain seemed to chant in his head, its screechy voice blocking out his thoughts. And finally Leg could take no more. Crashing into the ground from a height of over a kilometer, he banged his head against the rocky ground in despair. “Sh*t…” he hissed through gritted teeth, his eyes beginning to burn, “Why is this happening to me?!!” “Leggy m’boy? What’s wrong?” sounded Eeznus’ concerned voice as the old master approached his suffering disciple in a series of cartwheels and sat cross-legged before him. Something definitely wasn’t right. At this point Eeznus was totally certain that Leg was no quitter. It wasn’t like him anymore to waste precious minutes moping. “Everything…H-hurts…” was all Leg could choke out as the pain grew all the more overwhelming. “Welp, I think I see what the problem is!” Eeznus announced matter-of-factly, holding up a strangely shaped dagger, “Somebody stuck that thing in the back of your left hip, my boy!” “E-EH???” “Some asshole backstabbed you. And I failed to notice it. Shucks. I sure suck eggs.” “Are you sure it wasn’t you?” Leg inquired in a weak yet determined voice. Knowing Eeznus, he probably thought stab wounds build character or something. “Nope, getting shanked isn’t part of your training, m’boi!” “Then what the f*ck is going on?” “Some kinda dumbass assassination attempt or something.” Eeznus shrugged, “Which is hecka stupid because assassinating an immortal is like trying to turn a cookie into eggs, milk and flour again. No, actually it's MUCH more idiotic than that, since some magic-practicing folks really CAN turn a cookie into its primary components. Sorry wizard dudes.” “Then if it’s just a stupid knife…” Leg groaned pitifully, “Why does my entire body hurt so much?” “Wait.” Eeznus jumped to his feet, stricken by an epiphany, “Getting stabbed with a knife can’t hurt an Asclepper user…Unless…” Shaking the residual drops of lightblood off the blade, Eeznus gave it a nice long lick. Leg fought to suppress a gag. “Welp. Just as I thought.” His face scrunched up into a nightmarish grimace of disgust at the taste, “It’s laced with a potent poison.” “Poison?!” “Yep. Probably shouldn’t have licked it, but whatevs. I’ve survived worse.” Eeznus threw the knife aside and regarded Leg with an uncharacteristically somber expression. “The important thing is…Looks like we ain’t dealing with no idiot. Whoever stabbed you knew their stuff. And it was no assassination attempt either.” “Eh?” “The perp was very well-informed about the Asclepper. Well-informed enough to know that it can heal any wound, but can’t neutralize poison. Though your body will be healed from the damaging effects of the poison, it will remain inside you until your body’s defense mechanisms take care of all of it naturally or you receive an antidote. In other words, you’ll just keep on getting poisoned anew each time you’re healed. And only the assbucket that poisoned you knows how long your suffering will last.” “Then…Why would someone do this?” “Not to kill you, but to dramatically decrease your productivity and efficiency. To sabotage your training at the most crucial moment, pure and simple.” Eeznus sighed, “Whoever the perp was, they just really wanted to see you fail. By the way…I think I have my suspect.” “You know who did this? Please tell me…When this is over…I swear I’m gonna make him hurt as bad as I am hurting right now…” Leg forced out through gritted teeth, writhing on the ground in agony as the pain intensified. “First of all, that’s somebody who knows where I live. That already narrows down the list of suspects to just a few dozen people. That person is also somebody who is knowledgeable enough about the Asclepper to find out its weaknesses. Thus, somebody who has trained with me at some point. And also an insufferable asshole who refuses to take responsibility for his own shortcomings and hates seeing others succeed. There’s pretty much no mistaking it. It’s HIM! Ultraman Aqool!” Eeznus dramatically pointed at one of the faces on the Portfolio Rock. An Ultra with the characteristic angular head-crest of Hakarl and Rauda’s lineage, his sharp hacksaw-like teeth bared in a defiant snarl. “Wait…Isn’t that Hakarl and Commander Rauda’s brother? Wasn’t he the one who went missing after failing your training?” “Exact-a-mundo! To think that he’d pick such an inconvenient time to reappear and get on people’s nerves…” “Master, that was the least peppy exact-a-mundo I’ve ever heard from you. To think that something could actually make you stop dicking around…Must mean the situation is REALLY serious.” Leg chuckled bitterly. “Wowie, my boy!” Eeznus beamed, “You’re in all sorts of agonizing pain but you still have the guts to be snarky! I admire that!” he patted Leg on the head. “Ow!” Leg couldn’t help but wince at the touch. The poison had made his entire body painfully sensitive to even the slightest of stimuli, like he was running a hundred of the nastiest fevers all at once. “So…Master Eeznus…How do we deal with this…Ugh…Problem?” “Well, Leggy my boy…I’d say you probably need to get fixed up at the Silver Cross Hospital for your little poisoning problem, but that’s not possible at the moment lest we waste the last few days of the Asclepper’s activity. So I’m afraid you have no choice but to gut it out and keep on training. You still have plenty of time to master that technique, so in the end it all comes down to good old-fashioned dee-turrr-mii-nei-shun!” Eeznus announced, punctuating each syllable with a back handspring. “E-eh?” Leg gaped in disbelief, “You mean there’s actually…No way of easing this pain?” “Nope. Now get up, buttercup!” But no matter how hard Leg tried to pull himself to his feet, his muscles had locked up from the pain, and his struggles were fruitless and demoralizing. “Nnnngh…I…can’t…not…like this…” once again, Leg could feel bitter tears welling up. “There’s a guy close by who wants to see you fail with every ounce of his being! Do you want to let him win? Do you want to be this asshole’s entertainment?” Eeznus stomped his foot angrily. “N-no…” Leg’s voice was small and choked, “But I really am at my…l-limit…” Eeznus let out a heavy sigh. He walked over to the prone frame of his student and kneeled down before him. And when the master and the disciple’s eyes met, Leg was shocked to see an expression of genuine sadness on Eeznus’ face… “My boy…An underdog’s hunger is the most terrifyingly strong driving force known to any sentient creature…” he said sagely. “W-what do you mean?” “When I first saw Brotein, I felt the hunger that dwelled within him…It was just as intense as mine was back in the day. The hunger to become the greatest warrior in the universe. It was so strong it was almost palpable…And that hunger is going to take him places. It already has taken him where no Ultra has ever gone before, and his story has barely even begun.” As they dipped towards the horizon, the twin suns burned a violent orange-red. “Brote…in…” Leg whispered dazedly. “As we speak, Brotein is following the call of his hunger. He’s the kind of guy that won’t let up no matter what fate throws at him. Even with the Asclepper, you really have to dig deep if you are to stand any chance of catching up to him. Otherwise your next battle will be a one-sided beatdown again. That’s not what you’re looking for, is it?” “N-no…” Leg choked out, tears sliding down his cheeks. “Trust me, I don't want you to fail either. Please don’t give up, Leg. You’re so close to experiencing it…Your perfect battle…” Leg gritted his teeth tightly to suppress his sobs. This wasn’t fair! He had chosen to go through this training knowing that horrible suffering awaited him. He endured it for almost a year no matter how badly he wanted to quit. But just as he was about to reach the finish line, it turned out that he had to go suffer even worse before his ordeal truly came to an end! He was so close to catching up to Brotein…To facing him in a rematch and finally experiencing what it’s like to feel truly alive…He couldn’t give up! If he did that, then the outcome would be the same as if he hadn’t trained at all! He would’ve put up with what was pretty much the tortures of hell all for naught! And this pissed Leg off. It pissed him off so much he didn’t even notice that he had somehow managed to get back to his feet. When he did realize that, he almost crumpled to the ground again, but caught himself at the last moment with a yell of determination. “Atta boy, Leggy my boy! It doesn’t matter how much you whine or cry, that mental toughness of yours still gives me chills! It’s almost as good as Commander Rauda’s or mine!” Eeznus grinned. “Now start practicing! Time is of the essence, and we’ve already wasted at least twenty minutes on chatting and emotional breakdowns! That’s two thousand minutes in normal people time!” Groaning in pain with every step, Leg trudged towards the dankite training dummy. “Do your best, kiddo!” Eeznus cheered, waving two big fluffy pompoms in the air while balancing on the tip of his left foot, “And don’t worry about the stabby lowlife! I’ll watch over you 24/7 for this entire week! And if I catch him trying to put the hurt on you again I swear to Noa and King and everything else that is holy I will plant my foot so far up his ass he will be licking the sole of my boot in his death throes! Jerks who try to sabotage my precious students will never be forgiven! Hm!” Eeznus flexed threateningly. And thus began the week of hell. No, hell was Eeznus’ usual training. This was more like super-mega-uber-giga-tera-extreme-ultra-hell. It sucked. It sucked so much that his body must’ve switched to operating in some kind of mindless autopilot mode. All he knows is that he had somehow managed to get through it in one piece, and his first memory following the beginning of the ordeal is that of collapsing into a pile of rubble that a moment ago used to be his dankite training dummy, having finally mastered his new special attack mere seconds before the light of the Asclepper on his forehead flickered out, the now-dormant gem turning gray and dull much like an ordinary pebble. “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!” whooped a very sleep-deprived and caffeinated Eeznus, pouring confetti and space champagne on his disciple’s motionless body, “HARD WORK WINS AGAIN!!! KAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!” “master eeznus, please stop making a mess.” Leg mouthed, too weak to not only move, but also do pretty much anything, including caring about not being able to move. “Congratulations on becoming the second person ever not to wimp out of my Asclepper training! Nice guts, my boy! Have a cookie!” “that’s not a cookie master.” The cookie in question was actually crushed into crumbs and blended with a glass of Miclas milk and Noa knows what else – more of a cookie smoothie than an actual cookie. “It’s a perfect cookie for tired boys who don’t have the strength to chew solid food!” “looks more like a cookie’s last will in testament.” “I regret ever taking you under my wing.” Eeznus groaned, heartbrokenly guzzling space champagne straight from the bottle. “But I do applaud your snarking abilities. They show that your spirit hasn’t been broken in the slightest!” “whatever,” Leg tried to whisper a little bit louder, but failed miserably, “master, is it normal to like, not be able to move after the asclepper runs out of juice?” “Don’t worry my boy, it’s perfectly normal! Your body is just in shock from having to adjust to functioning without relying on the Asclepper’s healing energy, is all! I call it “Asclepper Jetlag”! It will go away on its own in a day or so. So just lie back, relax, and enjoy your cookies and lack of suffering. You’ve more than earned it! Meanwhile, I have a duty…” Eeznus shattered his empty bottle against a rock, “To make a certain naughty child atone for his sins.” “You mind telling me more about that Aqool guy?” Leg inquired between gulps of “cookie”, sporting a milk mustache more impressive than that of his master and filled with morbid curiosity. “Why the heck would Hakarl and Commander Rauda’s bro try to torture me into quitting my training?” Eeznus grimaced like he had just swallowed an entire lemon, “Aqool’s story…Is probably how you would’ve ended up if you didn’t turn out to be such a good, diligent boy…” “E-eh??? Master Eeznus what the fu~…” “Born with extraordinary natural talent in pretty much everything, he was considered the most promising out of the three siblings. As a result, he grew up to be an arrogant and spoiled young fellow who was used to everything being handed to him on a silver platter. And when he and his two siblings were offered the opportunity to cultivate their talents with me, he didn’t expect having to put in actual hard work for the first time in his life. So shortly after starting his training he threw a major hissy fit, stormed outta here and disappeared for a couple dozen millennia. Just before he left, he shrieked at me “Just you wait, old geezer! I’ll find a way to get stronger without any of that “hard work” bullsh*t you cherish so much! Then I’ll return and whoop your scrawny butt so hard nobody will be able to recognize your corpse!” KAAAAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA! The nerve of that guy! It’s hilarious. And also tragic. Tragilarious.” “Yikes.” “Yikes indeed, my boy! And now this sore loser found out that I have a new student that’s actually pretty damn close to succeeding, and his ego just couldn’t have that! So he snuck up on you and poisoned you in hopes of stalling your progress. But you completed your training anyway in an epic display of perseverance! Imagine how royally pissed that guy must be right now! And now that he’s lost his cool and you’re out of Asclepper power, there’s a high chance he’ll attack you directly and probably try to kill you! I’ve already informed Commander Rauda that it’s very likely that her long-lost bro is back and up to no good, so she had a few Space Garrison issue spy drones delivered here to scope out Planet Dank for any surprise visitors. Oh, and speak of the devil…” A small glowing orb equipped with four translucent dragonfly-like wings landed into Eeznus’ palm with a soft beep. “Oh my gosh!” Eeznus gushed, “These things are so frick-fracking adorable! New technology sure is something! Who’s a good spy orb? Who’s a good spy orb? That’s right, you are! You are a good spy orb!” The spy orb let out an annoyed whirr. “Master, this is serious business!” Leg groaned. “Oops, you’re right. Alrighty then, what do you have for us, little guy?” The drone projected a holographic image of a concerned-looking Commander Rauda. “Why hello there Rauda dearie!” The woman in the hologram tsked and pinched the base of her head crest. “I have bad news for you two. While surveying a forest around ten miles south from your current location, the spy drone had managed to acquire this photo of the stabbing incident suspect.” The drone pulled up a blurry picture. “Dear King…” was all that Eeznus could say. As blurry as that photo was, it was fairly easy to make out the cross-shaped lance clutched tightly in the hand of the eerie red silhouette darting through the shadowy woods. “Eh?” Leg was confused, “Master Eeznus, why are you getting so worked up over some creepy guy in a red suit?” “That ain’t no suit, my boy.” Eeznus said gravely, “That’s the Monster Eater.” “Monster what?” “The Monster Eater Armor. An experimental Space Garrison weapon, confiscated many millennia ago and contained in the Ultra Bell Tower under constant surveillance.” Rauda explained, “In the past century there was an incident where an army of space pirates attempted to plunder the Land of Light. They actually managed to breach the Bell Tower’s defenses and steal a lot of valuable artefacts including the Monster Eater before retreating to an unknown location. Up until now all attempts to locate them have failed. And now we’re faced with the worst possible outcome. Somebody, no matter if that person is my brother or not, has put on this armor in order to use it for evil purposes. That could prove catastrophic if they are not stopped.” “So what’s the plan, Commander?” Eeznus asked, frowning. “I am afraid that sending reinforcements at this point is out of the question. Reaching Andromeda through normal flight would take long, and we can’t afford to waste time with a Monster Eater user on the loose. And since the Land of Light’s population and mean power level is still at a considerable low, attempting to gather enough energy for a Travel Sphere for one, let alone multiple Ultras without endangering the general populace’s health is extremely problematic. As for teleportation, it’s even more out of the question. We still do not know the criminal’s true motives. Opening a portal with them close by poses a significant risk. If a Monster Eater user were to hijack the portal and infiltrate the Land of Light, it could result in millions of civilian deaths! That’s why, in order to minimize the amount of casualties, the best course of action is to put up a forcefield around Planet Dank to contain the criminal!” “Wait…” Eeznus squinted, “You mean Leggy and I are gonna be stuck here with Stabby McStabs until at least one of us dies?” The incapacitated blue Ultra spat out a mouthful of “cookie” before letting out a resounding “HELL NO”. “That’s right!” Rauda said. “And Master, your job is to fight the criminal and defeat them!” “Aww, come ooooon!” Eeznus whined, “Cut a retired old man some slack, will ya?” “Stop dicking around and get to work!” Rauda ordered sternly, “That’s an order, soldier!” “Yes ma’am.” Eeznus sighed and gave his Commander a half-hearted salute. “I believe that you can beat them no matter how charged up their armor is!” a slight smile crept across Rauda’s lips. “After all, you’re my Master Eeznus! The insufferable dork that never gives up and never loses!” “Aww, Rauda dearie, you’re gonna make me cry!” Eeznus whined, pressing a palm against his eyes. Leg wondered if he was really touched or just faking for the kakakas of it. “Good luck!” Rauda said before shutting off the feed. The orb hovered off Eeznus’ palm before taking off into the sky. Seconds later a slight pearlescent glow spread across Planet Dank’s skies as the drones enveloped it in a powerful forcefield. “Welp, that’s that.” Eeznus shrugged, “Now all we have to do is wait for A-not-qool to appear so I can school him! And since I can’t really go jerkface hunting on my own while you, my boy, are in limp corpse mode, there’s no telling when this wait will end.” “It better end soon. The fact that I’m lying here helpless and some dude with a top-secret experimental weapon is out for my blood is giving me the creeps.” Leg said, pushing away a half-full glass of “cookie” with a weak motion of his head. He had completely lost his appetite. “Hey Leggy…” Eeznus suddenly said “What is it, Master?” “Wanna hear a story? Ya know, to relieve this tense atmosphere a little bit?” “Sure, why not.” “When I was a young’un in the Space Garrison Training Academy, the lecturer of our ethics class told us about the Monster Eater. You see, a few millennia before I was born, a dramatic increase in the number of hostile kaiju and aliens caused the Space Garrison to sustain heavy losses. In response to that the Father of Ultra issued a demand for the development of new weapons and protective gear. This research campaign yielded excellent progress, but the number of casualties still remained too high. One day a brilliant young member of the Space Garrison Science Division appeared to have invented what they described as “The Ultimate Machine of Justice” – a weapon that would not only guarantee victory, but also grow stronger with each slain enemy. You see, that scientist had discovered a way to use the spirits of the dead as an energy source! Instead of passing on to the Monster Graveyard, the spirits of the kaiju killed by the lance and dagger components of the Monster Eater would be absorbed into the Eater Core built into the armor component’s belt and then utilized as an energy source to power up the Monster Eater's user. A kaiju soul, as it turns out, can burn for thousands and thousands of years without fizzling out! Think of the level of power that could eventually be reached by that armor’s wearer! It all seemed like a perfect idea, and the armor’s testing stages were coming along smoothly. But when time came to test out the armor in field conditions, the scientist’s assistants that had equipped the Monster Eater suddenly turned their backs on them, condemning them for ever creating this armor and abandoning the lab. Convinced that they were doing the right thing and determined to continue the project no matter what, the scientist had no choice but to handle the rest of the field testing by themself. But as they put on their creation, their mind was flooded with the tortured screams of the kaiju souls trapped inside it, unable to pass on to the Monster Graveyard and doomed to suffer for millennia as their energy was drained away bit by agonizing bit. Horrified and disgusted by the atrocity they’d committed, the scientist released the souls and instead cast themself into the Eater Core, choosing to become the eternal prisoner of their own creation as punishment for their sins. The armor, the scientist’s written records and a few video recordings of the tests were later found by the Space Garrison, and the horrible tragedy that had unfolded in that lab was revealed to the rest of the Land of Light. But you know what? That’s not even the worst thing about this mess!” Suddenly Eeznus turned into spookiness incarnate, illuminating his face with a flashlight, his voice hushed and eerie “In the midst of the hysteria that followed the incident the recorded video footage of the Monster Eater field tests somehow got leaked to another planet! Since that planet’s inhabitants had no idea about its true nature, they thought it was just a special effects movie! So they turned it into a TV show and aired it! To this day, there’s a very high chance that right now the footage of real kaiju being brutally murdered by a Monster Eater user is being broadcast to some unsuspecting viewers as "harmless entertainment"! And that, my boy, concludes the story of why the Monster Eater is no good! Did you like it?” “F-f*ck you, Master…” Leg choked out, violently shivering in terror and frankly amazed that his body actually had enough energy left to shiver. “Oops…Maybe I should’ve gone with a more lighthearted story…” “You always were a giant nerd, old man!” Eeznus cried out in surprise, jumping to his feet and frantically looking around, searching for the source of the voice. “Where are you, you conniving bastard? Show yourself!” “Kekekekekekekekekekekeke!” A red-clad figure stood on top of the portfolio rock, the antennae on their helmet glistening in the light of the setting suns. “Hello, “master”!” they hissed mockingly, “I’ve come back to f*ck your sh*t up…Just as promised!” “Aqool!” Eeznus smirked, “It’s you, isn’t it?” “Exact-a-mundo, old man!” the intruder sneered, pulling off his helmet, his saw-toothed grin gleaming. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? After ditching your stupid training, I was so pissed that I joined a space pirate gang for a few thousand years to let out some steam. But while murdering and pillaging was great wholesome fun, I never forgot my promise. And one day, when the Monster Eater armor happened to end up among our daily loot, I saw the perfect opportunity! So I treated my mateys to some extra-delicious space booze! So delicious, in fact, that none of them woke up! And since they didn’t wake up, none of them called dibs on the armor, so it was fair game! Keeeekekekekekekekeke!!!” “Wowie, what a pleasant surprise!” Eeznus beamed, “It’s been over 20000 years! I’ve missed ya! C’mere you big dork! Get in my hugs!” “EH?” Leg’s jaw hit the ground. Aqool’s eye twitched, and his grip on his cross-shaped lance tightened. “Sorry pal, but I ain’t interested in no hugs. The reason I’ve come here is to destroy you, and your little Leggy too! Have you already gone so senile that you can’t tell apart an attempt on your life and a friendly visit?” “Aww come on sweetie, don’t be such a party pooper!” Eeznus pouted, “At least have a cookie!” Eeznus hopped onto the Portfolio Rock next to his ex-disciple, tray of freshly baked cookies in hand. “STOP FOOLING AROUND!!!” Aqool snarled, stomping his foot so hard one of the quitter carvings cracked in half from head crest to chin. “Aww, so you don’t want a cookie either?” Eeznus whispered eerily, inching closer and closer towards the red-clad intruder. “Well, Aqool sweetie, it’s a good thing I’ve come prepared! Just in case you didn’t like my cookie, I whipped you up a delicious sandwich! It’s a specialty of mine! I even have a special name for it…” Aqool didn’t have enough time to even start to comprehend the situation before a gloved red fist collided with his chin with a nauseating wet crunch. So great was the force of the blow, that the red-suited Ultra was tossed several miles into the air like a ragdoll, raindrops of his lightblood pitter-pattering against Portfolio Rock. “IT’S CALLED A KNUCKLE SANDWICH, MOTHERF*CKER! KAAAAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!” Eeznus roared triumphantly, leaping after his victim. “Holy King!” was all Leg managed to squeak out. “THIS IS FOR MESSING UP MY PORTFOLIO!” Eeznus’ bony knuckles met armor-clad flesh as another punch dug into Aqool’s gut with a moist squelch. “THIS IS FOR REFUSING TO EAT MY COOKIES!” A knee to the solar plexus. “THIS IS FOR DISGRACING YOUR BROTHER AND SISTER BY BECOMING A BACKSTABBING JERK!” An open-hand slap across the face that echoed a hundred miles. “AND THIS…” With an ungodly screech, Eeznus clad himself in emerald hellfire and unleashed a cannonade of energy-laced punches, chops and elbow strikes, a sonic boom punctuating each blow, “''IS FOR HURTING MY BOY LEGGY! BOFABOFABOFABOFABOFABOFABOFAAAAAAH!!!” Aqool squealed like a stuck pig before exploding into a ball of green flames. Eeznus landed in a graceful freerunner’s roll, his back facing the explosion. “Blazing Bofight.” He announced matter-of-factly, as though teaching a class, before erupting into violent kakakaking. “Kekekekekekeke!” the singed red man wheeze-cackled in response as he dug himself out of a pile of rubble and gingerly dusted off the Monster Eater. “Oh, you’re still conscious?” Eeznus sneered. “That’s bad news for you!” “Quite the contrary, old timer. I’m invincible! This armor’s got the souls of exactly one million kaiju powering it! You’re toast, buddy!” “The power of a million kaiju souls, huh? I guess that’s pretty strong. I’m getting pumped!” Eeznus grinned predatorily. “Told ya I’d find a way to get stronger without any of that “hard work” nonsense!” “No hard work? Puh-lease! I’m pretty sure fighting and defeating a million kaiju qualifies as hard work!” “Not if they’re some of the weakest, most harmless kaiju in existence it’s not! A million kaiju souls is still a million kaiju souls, no matter how weak they are!” “Aqool sweetie, would you mind citing a reliable peer-reviewed source backing up your claim that killing one million weak kaiju does not qualify as hard work?” “Time to quit yapping and die, old fart! RED THUNDER!” “Woah there buckaroo!” Eeznus shrieked, barely managing to cartwheel out of the way before Aqool fired a beam from the palms of his gloved hands, vaporizing a forest and the entire mountain range that lay north of it. “Dammit! You slippery old geezer!” Aqool ground his teeth “Alrighty, I’ll give it to you, that armor of yours is stupidly overpowered!” Eeznus smirked, prancing and pirouetting around with all the grace of a ballet dancer as he struggled to put out his right foot which had caught fire, “Your aim, however…Ya know, considering how despicable a person you grew up to be, I really wish your parents’ aim had been as good as yours while they were in the process of making you!” A weak, hushed “oooooooooooh!!!” sounded from the pile of dankite rubble. Aqool made nails-on- chalkboard sounds with his teeth. “I’LL KILL YOU!!! I’LL END YOU, DAMMIT!!! RED ARROW!” he shrieked, wildly thrusting his lance at his nimbly dodging opponent. “Woah, woah, WOAH!” Eeznus flung his hands in front of the Red Arrow, “Be careful with that thing! It’s sharp as heck! Somebody could get really hurt!” Aqool wailed like a banshee and jumped up high into the air. He swung the Red Arrow down in a wide arch, aiming to bludgeon Eeznus to death with the cross-shaped section of its shaft. The palms of the old Ultra’s hands firmly clasped the sides of the cross, stopping the weapon in its tracks. “KAKAKAKAKA!” Eeznus howled with laughter as the ground split and shattered under his feet from the force of Aqool’s blow, “THIS IS SO AWESOME! I HAVEN’T HAD THIS MUCH FUN IN A LONG WHILE!” Aqool’s free hand shot out in the direction of his Color Timer, metal glinting in its grip. “Not so fast, sweetie!” Eeznus snickered, “Eezluggers!” The three gleaming blades adorning the mustached Ultra’s head detached with a metallic clang and, enveloped by an eerie green glow, whizzed around the two combatants, the patterns of their flight wild and unpredictable. “GYAAAAAAAAH!!!” Aqool screamed out in agony as one of the Eezluggers lodged itself deeply into his hand. The poison-laced Red Knife poised to pierce Eeznus’ chest slipped out of his lightblood-slickened grip. “KAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!” Eeznus laughed, the Beam Lamp in the middle of his forehead aglow with energy. Aqool writhed in agony as the blade was telekinetically twisted inside the wound before being unceremoniously ripped out. “AAAAGH! YOU MISERABLE OLD F*CK!!! I’M GOING TO GORE YOU UP!” Taking advantage of the close range of attack, Aqool allowed the Red Arrow to fall into the rubble and sent Eeznus hurtling into a grove of trees with a point-blank Red Thunder. “Master!!!” Leg yelled as the splintered wood burst into flames around his teacher’s prone body, flooding his view with thick plumes of smoke. “KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE!!!” Aqool cackled triumphantly “HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ROASTED, OLD MAN?! SEE, I TOLD YOU I’D WHOOP YOUR WRINKLY ASS, AND I DELIVERED! I NEVER GO BACK ON MY PROMISES! FOR I AM THE ULTRAMAN WITH THE POWER OF A MILLION MONSTERS! THE MAGNIFICENT, INVINCIBLE, AQOO~…eh?” Every inch of his body engulfed by raging flames, an Ultra’s sillhouette emerged from the blazing inferno, approaching his slack-jawed adversary in a nonchalant manner, as though merely going out for a leisurely walk. “Ka ka ka ka ka~” his voice crackled softly like the burning branches around him. “N-NO WAY!!!” Aqool stammered, stumbling backwards, “BUT IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO SURVIVE MY RED THUNDER!!! I…I DEFEATED YOU!” “Nah pal.” Eeznus smiled warmly as he clipped all three of his Eezluggers onto the armor around his Color Timer. Aqool could only watch, paralyzed by terror, as charging energy illuminated the blades from the center outwards, a flower of razor-sharp electric death blossoming in the middle of the ancient hero’s chest. “Eeznus Tri-Shoot: Corpse Flower Carnival!” Eeznus yelled, a brilliant beam bursting forth from his chest. Aqool tried to diveroll out of its way, but no matter where he dodged, the beam’s trajectory would swerve in his direction, chasing its victim like a guided missile. But just as the attack was about to connect…With an ear-splitting screech of despair, Aqool dove into the ocean of fire that remained of the forest. “Eh?” Eeznus regarded the flames with a confused look, “Buddy…Did you really think cooking yourself alive would be less painful than being hit by my Corpse Flower Carnival? Welp, the least I can do for you is keep you from completely turning to ash so my boy Leggy and I can have a jolly good time laughing at your stupid corpse!” Eeznus raised his hand towards his Beam Lamp, “Ultra Psychokinesis!” With a powerful wave of psychic energy, the forest fire was instantly snuffed out, leaving charred tree trunks and ash-coated soil in its wake. “Wait a second…” Eeznus squinted, “Where’s the corpse?” ''“Kekekekekekekeke…” Aqool’s cackling echoed around him. “AQOOL!” Eeznus exclaimed, frantically looking around, “WHERE ARE YOU?! SHOW YOURSELF, YOU BASTARD!” “Ever tried thinking outside the box, old fart?” Aqool taunted “Oh no! He’s underground!” Eeznus realized as he felt a rumbling beneath his feet. “Too late, bromate!” the red-clad evildoer exclaimed, erupting from the ground in an explosion of rubble in the exact spot where the incapacitated and immobile Leg lay. “Sh*t! My boy!” His body rendered useless by Asclepper Jetlag, all Leg could do was whimper in pain as the red man put him in a brutal chokehold, the attacker’s crimson-hilted dagger mere millimeters away from his face. Armor charred and dented, Aqool struggled to catch his breath as he tightened his grip on his victim “Don’t make any sudden moves, old timer! That kid doesn’t have an Asclepper to fix his boo-boos for him anymore! Just imagine what would happen if my hand were to accidentally slip! Keeekekekekekekekekekeke!!!” “Aqool you bastard! Let him go immediately or I’ll…” Eeznus clenched his fists in helpless rage as Aqool gently pressed the Red Knife against the base of Leg’s skull. “You’ll what?” Aqool teased, “Attack me? Kill me? Kekekekekeke…I don’t like your language, old man. You may want to keep insults and threats to a minimum. Who knows what the poison will do to him if I apply it directly to his brain stem…” the blade broke the blue Ultra’s skin ever so slightly, a drop of lightblood sliding down the its edge, “To be honest, I’m quite curious to find out! Kekekekekekekeke!” “Wait, easy. Don’t hurt him!” Eeznus tried to reason with the hostage-taker, “What do you want from me?! Tell me!” The nastiest of grins contorted Aqool’s soot-stained face. “Keeeekekekekekekekekekeke….I may have underestimated the number of souls needed to defeat you…But I, the invincible Aqool, not only never go back on my promises, but also never engage in battle without a Plan B in mind…And speaking of Plan B…It’s quite simple. You give yourself up to me without any resistance. I kill you and absorb your soul into the Eater Core. I let the kid live. You do anything that isn’t part of Plan B, and your precious student gets shanked right through the skull. What do you think of my proposal, old timer?” “Fair enough. I’m game.” Eeznus shrugged. “M-master Eeznus, no!” Leg begged desperately, “Please don’t listen to him! Don’t worry about me and save yourself!” “No can do, kiddo!” Eeznus grinned, “In order to make you stronger, I put you through hell for an entire year, but no matter how tough it got, you kept on moving forward. And even though countless times you broke down…You cried…You screamed “I can’t do it! I want to quit!” …You completed my training like a true badass! If I were to allow this kind of effort to go unrewarded…If I were to let some sore loser kill you just as all of your hard work was finally about to pay off, I’d never be able to forgive myself!” Relaxed and smiling as though simply taking a stroll through the forest, Eeznus slowly approached the grinning Aqool. “Master! Stop!” Leg cried out, disgusted with his own helplessness. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t will himself to move. The Asclepper Jetlag hung heavily on his body, binding him like an intangible chain. The only thing he could do was watch through a haze of tears as Eeznus spread his arms wide, as though inviting Aqool to strike. “My only regret is forgetting to take the cookies out of the oven this morning!” He sighed, “What a waste of good ingredients!” “Enough yapping!” Aqool shrieked, tossing Leg aside and driving the Red Arrow deep into Eeznus’ stomach, “Die, old man!” With a soft gasp, the old warrior slowly sank to the ground, a ghostly afterimage separating from his frame. “Yes! Come to daddy!” Aqool cooed. “Live, Leg…” the spirit of Eeznus whispered faintly before it was sucked into the Monster Eater’s belt. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” the anguished screams of his disciple echoed across the scorched landscape. There was no mistaking it. Eeznus was gone. His motionless body was sprawled on the ground, eyes dark and Color Timer extinguished. Pulling the Red Arrow out of the corpse in a spray of lightblood, Aqool cackled in villainous mirth. “KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE!!! I’VE FINALLY GOTTEN RID OF THAT OLD GEEZER! AND NOW THAT I HAVE ABSORBED HIS SOUL, I’VE BECOME MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER! Alrighty then, you miserable wretch...Now it’s your turn!” Leg cried out in pain as he was lifted into the air by his head crest, forced to come face to face with the grinning red man. “Did you really think I was gonna let you go in exchange for your stupid master’s life, huh? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I LIED! KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE!!!” “You…Bastard…” Leg croaked. “You know what really grinds my gears, huh Leggy?” Aqool brutally slammed Leg facefirst into the ground, taking extra care to grind his face against the sharp rocks, “Seeing someone succeed where I’ve failed!” Another slam. “As soon as that happens, I can’t rest until that person is dead, and the more painful their death, the better.” And another slam. “So don’t expect a quick and merciful death. I’m gonna take my sweet time tormenting yEAUGH WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?” Just as he was about to accept his inevitable demise, Leg was suddenly dropped to the ground. As he frantically caught his breath, he watched as above him Aqool choked and writhed, fruitlessly trying to pry a ghostly hand away from his neck. “Y-you…Ghkkk… T-there’s no way a soul can escape from the Eater Core! H-how is this p-possible?!!” “Willpower, mother*cker!” Eeznus’ grinning face popped out of the Monster Eater’s belt, followed by his shoulders and other arm, “Willpower is a force that makes even the impossible possible! And, because you’re so hell bent on taking the easy way out and avoiding trials and tribulations, it’s also something that you never developed!” “S-shut the hell up!!!” Aqool squealed, karate-chopping the strangling arm, but going right through it and hitting himself in the throat instead, “YEOW! DAMMIT!” “Why you hittin’ yourself, dumbass?” Eeznus’ ghost cackled. “DON’T YOU F*CKING DARE MOCK ME YOU STUBBORN DEAD PIECE OF GARBAGE!!!” Aqool howled, “I DON’T NEED NO STUPID WILLPOWER WHEN I HAVE THE MONSTER EATER! THE MONSTER EATER’S MIGHT IS INFINITE!” “You really are in love with this piece of junk, aren’t ya?” the ghost of Eeznus smirked, “In that case…I have a little surprise for you! Ultra Psychokinesis!” Aqool let out a shocked gasp as the Eater Core suddenly turned over, revealing a small console built into its opposite side. “Bet’cha didn’t know the Monster Eater had this function!” “H-hey… S-stop this!” “Sorry pal, no can do! Falalalalalalalalalalalala!” Eeznus’ ghost sang jovially as he telekinetically pressed the buttons on the console. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” “Ah, nothing much. Just punching in the Monster Eater’s soul-releasing and self-destruct codes!” “WHAT? WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THOSE?” “A nice lady in the Eater Core gave them to me!” “WHAT NICE LADY?! DON’T SCREW WITH ME OLD MAN! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU DEAD!” Aqool violently stabbed at the air with the Red Knife, each stab passing through Eeznus’ ghost, who seemed to be having way too much fun considering the situation. “KAKAKAKAKAKA, KILL ME DEAD?” Eeznus wheezed, grabbing his ghostly sides, “THAT’S PRICELESS! COMEDY GOLD! Buddy. Pal. Chum. Bucko. I’m a frickin’ ghost. Ya know. Like, already dead n stuff?” Aqool brayed like a mule out of helpless rage. “By the way pal, this armor’s gonna self-destruct soon, so if I were you I’d take it off pronto!” Eeznus winked. The seams of the armor glowed a fluorescent pink, and Aqool hollered in pain as the rising core temperature began to quite literally boil him alive. With a resounding “DAMN IT!!!” he pressed a button on his belt. Spewing a cloud of steam from its seams, the Monster Eater fell apart. Tripping over the discarded armor parts and steaming like a boiled crayfish, its disgraced owner dashed for cover before a massive explosion rocked the area. When the smoke cleared, all that was left of the horrifying experimental weapon was a pile of red-tinted scrap. Rising out of the ruins of the Monster Eater, the ghost of Eeznus sighed in relief as it entered its slightly banged up, but mostly-intact vessel. “Aaah, home sweet home!” Eeznus yawned and stretched out his gangly limbs, as though having just awoken from a nap, “Ow! Oi, who the heck put this hole in my gut? It smarts!” “M-master…You’re alive!!!” Emotionally drained but physically more or less unharmed aside from a few minor scuffs and cuts from the shrapnel of the detonated Eater Core, Leg was torn between crying and passing out from shock. He eventually chose the former. “Exact-a-mundo!” Eeznus gave his weepy disciple a thumbs up before pulling him into a quick hug. “Sorry for scaring the crap outta ya! It was all just part of my plan!” “U-ugh…” groaned a miserable pile of rubble a few steps away from the reunited master-student duo. “Ah, there you are!” Eeznus skipped over to the rubble pile and kneeled down in front of it. “Aqool. We need to talk.” “S-stay away!!!” The pile shrieked. Eeznus was having none of that. Thrusting his hand into the rubble, he pulled out a hissing and kicking Aqool by his back fin. “Look!” He commanded, lifting Aqool over his head and forcing him to look up at the sky. “Look at what you’ve done, you disgusting creature!” Blinking the tears out of his eyes, Leg stared at the sky in morbid wonder as the souls of Aqool’s victims began pouring out of the remains of the Eater Core by the thousands, eager to pass on after being trapped in energy-draining limbo for so long. A seemingly-neverending flood of small ghostly creatures, they squeaked happily as they jumped from cloud to cloud, ascending further and further into the sky. “One million dead Pigmons. Are you f*cking serious, man? The purest, most peace-loving kaiju in the universe, and you go ahead and kill a million of them because they’re easy prey for your stupid ambition. You sick bastard.” Eeznus violently shook Aqool around. “WHATEVER IT TAKES, DAMMIT!” Aqool screeched indignantly, “I’D KILL A BILLION PIGMONS IF IT MEANT GATHERING ENOUGH POWER TO WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOU! LET ME GO!!!” “Ya know,” Eeznus said gravely, “My super-cool uncle, Ultraman Zero, had a pet Pigmon. He called it Moroboshi-kun. It was a ridiculously cute creature with a heart of solid gold.” “WHAT’RE YOU GETTING AT?” Aqool hissed. “But the time I started my training with Uncle Zero, Moroboshi-kun was already pretty elderly in Pigmon years.” Eeznus continued in the same solemn tone, “It took a lot of naps. Then even more naps. And one day it went to sleep and never woke up again… That day, my uncle…My super-badass, amazing uncle who I thought to be impervious to any painful thing…” Eeznus’ voice abruptly rose in volume and pitch, becoming almost like a battle cry, “…MY UNCLE WRECKED HIS BASE AND WEPT LIKE A BABY!!!” “So what?” Aqool scoffed, “Do you expect me to feel sorry for your uncle and some random dead Pigmon, cry my eyes out and realize the error of my ways?” “Aqool…” Eeznus whispered, his head hanging low, his eyes burning brighter than the flames of the previous forest fire, “Right now, because of your disgusting crime my uncle is rolling in his grave! His soul cannot rest in peace until these Pigmons have been properly avenged! AND YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT THAT MEANS!” “N-NO…” Aqool whimpered, beginning to shake like a leaf, “D-DON’T HURT ME!!!” “Begging for mercy, huh?” Eeznus chuckled darkly, “I bet those Pigmons also did the same.” “PLEASE NO!” “But you didn’t listen to them, did you?” “AT LEAST SPARE MY LIFE!!!” “Well neither will I!” “O-oh no.” “Alrighty then, Mr Serial Pigmon Killer, Teammate Killer, Eeznus Killer, and Leggy Poisoner!” Eeznus rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, “Let’s see how your body holds up against my Blazing Bofight now that you’re not hiding behind some murder-powered wetsuit!” “PLEASE, YOUR OMNIPOTENCE, HAVE MERCY!!!” “Oh, I’m afraid I can’t grant you mercy. But I can grant you BOFA!” “What’s BO~oh no.” “BOFA DEEZ FISTS! BOFABOFABOFABOFABOFABOFABOFABOFABOFABOFABOFAAAAH!!!” Each and every blow from Eeznus’ Blazing Bofight propelled Aqool further and further forward, towards Portfolio Rock. “GAAAH…WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!!” Aqool forced out through swollen cheeks. “See for yourself! BOFAAAAH!!!” With a final punch, Aqool was violently thrown into the open mouth of his own stone carving. “Make yourself comfortable, sweetie!” Eeznus grinned, “This is gonna be your final resting place.” “You go Master!” Leg cheered, lying back and watching the backstabbing bastard get his just desserts. “Wa-wa-wa-wa-wait!!!” Aqool stammered, “Y-you can’t kill me!!! W-what will my siblings… What will Hakarl and Rauda say?” “That’s Commander Rauda to you!” a spy drone hovered in front of the fallen villain, projecting a holographic image of Rauda. “S-s-s-sis?” Aqool whimpered, “S-so you’re the Commander of the Space Garrison now? Congratulations!” “Kissing up to me will get you nowhere, Aqool.” Rauda said sternly, “I have observed everything that has transpired on Planet Dank today. I know every disgusting detail of every single one of your crimes! Now let me tell you something. The reason I didn’t ask Eeznus to bring you to the Land of Light so I could personally deal with you is…I wanted to spare the civilians from the stench of your sins! A villain like you has no right to call himself an Ultraman! I hereby permanently exile you from the Land of Light, and the rest of the mortal world as well!” “N-no!!!” Aqool pleaded, “You can’t just leave me like this! We’re siblings! Family!” “We may be related by blood but you’re no family of mine! Farewell, Aqool!” And with that, the feed shut off, leaving the defeated villain desperately clinging to the now-inactive drone. “Oi Leggy!” Eeznus called out to his disciple, “You may want to close your eyes! This is about to get nasty!” “Sure, Master Eeznus!” “Aqool!” the old Ultra took one last look at the villain trapped in the mouth of his own Portfolio Rock carving. Memories of a talented young Ultra with what seemed like a bright future ahead of him flooded his mind. With a heavy sigh, Eeznus raised his hand to his Beam Lamp. “AQOOL! GET DEVOURED BY YOUR OWN FAILURES!!!” With a quick jerk of his hand, the carving’s jaws snapped shut. The suns had long since set, but the flood of Pigmon souls just kept on coming, their small wispy silhouettes darting across the bright green surface of Planet Dank’s solitary moon. Sitting back and enjoying some hard-earned cookies, the master and student duo watched the night sky. “Welp,” Eeznus said, brushing the cookie crumbs off his face, “This should be the last dozen or so Pigmons. Soon it will be time for…Ah wait, there she comes! Look my boy, there she comes!” Like a shepherd following a herd, the spirit of a blue Ultrawoman came floating after the Pigmon stampede, leaving behind a trail of brilliant aquamarine sparkles. “A-an Ultra?” Leg almost choked on a cookie, “Y-you mean that this is…” “That’s right, kiddo!” Eeznus said, “Turns out she is the scientist that started this whole mess. But now that it’s been taken care of, she can finally rest in peace! Isn’t that awesome?” The woman suddenly stopped her ascent and turned around. A jellybean-like baby Pigmon snoozing softly on her shoulder, she gave Leg and Eeznus a thumbs up. Then, with a smile on her face, she resumed her journey and vanished amongst the clouds. “Man.” Eeznus sighed, “I’m not sure why, but something about this lady fills me with nostalgic sadness. Oh well, whatever. Wanna hear a bedtime story, Leggy my boy?” It was a quiet, uneventful night, save for the occasional bird-flipping by a hand protruding from underneath a rock. Somewhere in a galaxy far, far away, an engine roared. Next episode preview Rauda: Grandfather...Have I really made the right choice? Is my idea of "justice" good enough to protect the universe? Leg: I can't believe this episode is finally over! Eeznus: Congratulations my boy! You've successfully survived your training AND an attempt at your life! Now all that's left is your rematch with Brotein! But before that, a special episode! Next time, the turbulent past of yours truly will be revealed! Watch me grow from a talentless weakling into a legendary warrior! My super-cool uncle will make an appearance too! Leg, Eeznus and Rauda: You wouldn't wanna miss it! Category:Ultraman Leg continuity Category:Ultraman Leg episodes Category:Fan Series Category:TheMoonShard